City of San Diego v. Com. on State Mandates CA3
Section 6 of article XIII B of the California Constitution requires the State of California, subject to certain exceptions, to “provide a subvention of funds to reimburse” local governments “[w]henever the Legislature or any state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service.” In this case, the City of San Diego (the City) seeks reimbursement under this provision for the costs of complying with a new permit condition that the State Water Resources Control Board (the Water Board) imposed on operators of water systems that serve K-12 schools. Under the new permit condition, these operators must provide free lead testing at each K-12 school they serve on the school’s request.
In this appeal, we must determine whether the Water Board’s new condition requires “a new program or higher level of service” within the meaning of article XIII B, section 6. The Commission on State Mandates (the Commission), which is charged with hearing claims under section 6, concluded i
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